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Can elbow extension be used as a test of clinically significant injury?
Martin A Docherty1, Robert A Schwab, O John Ma
1Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Truman Medical Center, 64108, USA.
Background:
The objective of this study was to evaluate whether a simple test of full elbow extension was a reliable indicator of bone/joint injury at the elbow joint.
Methods:
In this prospective study, patients with acute elbow injuries were asked to fully extend the injured elbow. Radiologists blinded to the results of the extension test interpreted the radiographs.
Results:
Of 114 patients with acute elbow injury entered into the study, 110 underwent adiographic evaluation. Inability to extend the elbow was found in 37 of 38 patients with bone injury. Only 1 of 54 patients who were able to fully extend the elbow was found to have bone/joint injury. The sensitivity and specificity of the elbow-extension test for identification of bone/joint injury was 97% and 69%, respectively.
Conclusions:
The elbow-extension test can be used as a sensitive clinical screening test for patients with acute elbow injuries.